3-hour drama brilliantly portrays Swami Sivananda’s life

A special Sydney tribute to the founder of the Divine Life Society on his 125th birth anniversary

BY MALAVIKA SANTHEBENNUR

Swami Sivananda

Saraswati (September 8, 1887- July 14, 1963) was a doctor, spiritual teacher, philanthropist, advocate of yoga and Vedanta, and a man they call ‘God Man’. He is the founder of the Divine Life Society (DLS) and this year is the 125th anniversary of his birth.

In honour of this significant milestone, DLS Australia organised a drama on their spiritual leader titled Swami Sivananda: Man to God Man on May 5, staged by the drama troupe Ananya Samarpana at Marana Auditorium in Hurstville.

As I watched the play unfold scene-by-scene and act-by-act, I realised that its title was apt. Directed by Ananya Samarpana’s founder Ambika Tadipatri, the drama unfolded like a work of art, traversing through Swami Sivananda’s birth, childhood, his exhibition of divinity from a young age, his medical achievements, and his eventual taking up of monasticism. The painstaking research undertaken over a period of two years was evident in this three-hour drama.

Staging a play of this duration is a feat in itself, but Mrs Tadipatri did it in 67 scenes with 67 participants, young and old. The cast was ably led by Dinesh Ramanan who played Swami Sivananda with the grace and dignity Swamiji deserved. Whether it was as the caring doctor who wanted to make a difference to the plight of the poor and the suffering, the human being who did not see caste as a bar, the dutiful son, or the respected Swamiji who renounced the world and saw God in everyone, Dinesh displayed all the right emotions through his expressive eyes and facial impressions. Dinesh was solidly supported by every other member of the drama, including Sharda Ramjas as his mother, Abhinav Rajkumar as his father, and Aditya Prasad as his servant. course : English, Maths , Science Power writing course : High School Helping Class

A great way to convey the proceedings was through the use of the narrator in the audio, and ‘Time’, a character within the play. The narrator, Ramesh Santhebennur’s voice boomed through the auditorium, filling the audience in on the story’s background, while elucidating the emotions swirling through the characters’ minds.

Those of us who remember the Mahabharata television series in the late 1980s, will remember ‘Samay’ as one of the most important characters of the epic. This drama took me back to that era with the ‘Time’ character.

Played by Karunya Prasad, she would enter the stage with graceful Bharatanatyam steps, take us back to the time of Swami Sivananda and explain the proceedings, before dancing off the stage with poise, elegance and beauty. Six small girls formed a circle around Karunya, all in matching green outfits, all matching Karunya step for step. The props in the drama were characters in themselves. I was particularly bowled over by the steam engine train that majestically stood on stage. Swami Sivananda undertook an All India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) tour in 1950 to spread his divine message throughout the country. Crowds would eagerly greet him at every train station at which he got off. To depict a train station, Mrs Tadipatri’s husband Prasad, designed a steam engine prop made of bamboo and wooden rings, reinforced with metal frames and covered with plastic bags. When the curtains opened to reveal the prop, gasps could be heard across the hall.

The idea to stage a drama on Swami Sivananda came to DLS Australia committee member Lakshmi Rao, about two years ago. She had watched Ananya Samarpana stage a drama on Ayyapa in 2010. The General Secretary of DLS Sri Swami Padmanabhananda, was also present on this occasion. Mrs Rao was inspired to do something similar for the DLS.

“I first spoke to Ambika about staging a drama on Swami Sivananda when mentioning to her that Swamiji had attended the Ayyappa drama as a chief guest. And then I couldn’t wait, I had to ask! I asked how she chooses her subjects, and ended asking if she would consider doing this drama,” explained Mrs Rao excitedly.

With productions like Ayyappa, Sarada Devi and Sri Ramakrishna, and Bhakta Prahlada among her repertoire, directing dramas is her passion and Mrs Tadipatri could not say no to this one.

Then began the research.

Mrs Rao provided her with ample material on the life of Swami Sivananda, including his autobiography. They spent a year sifting through the information and selecting the content for the script. They even took a trip to Rishikesh to visit the Sivananda Ashram.

Swami Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. A doctor by profession, he worked in Malaya as a physician for years before devoting himself to monasticism. He founded DLS in 1936.

The most satisfying part of the night must have been Swami Padmanabhanandaji’s generous shower of praise on the drama troupe and Mrs Tadipatri.

“It was truly wonderful,” said Swamiji with a beaming smile. “It brought tears in the eyes of so many people who watched. The kids performed wonderfully. They lived their characters. Ambikaji put lots of effort into bringing out the potential in all of these children”.